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Forum Name: Endocrinology Topics

Question: Exercise Problem - possibly an endocrinology issue

penkapchew - Thu Apr 26, 2007 5:24 pm

Here are my details I'm 25, male, past surgery - eye operation on detached retina, family history - grandmother has Diabetes. Current meds - none Ok, my issue is as follows:- I like to exercise, my average routine would be say.. go to the gym run a mile, row a mile and do some weights. For the first hour or so I feel fantastic. However, as the day goes on a similar pattern occurs. Several hours later I start to feel extremely low, excessively hungry, my mind starts to feel numb and can't think straight, I feel headachy, irritable, shaky and anxious. I find myself gritting my teeth and my eyes feel tired and droopy. Obviously I eat afterwards to combat the feeling of hunger.. this alleviates the feeling of shakiness slightly but doesn't really help the numb feeling in my mind. These symptoms continue for the rest of the day, and almost always lead to a very disturbed night's sleep where I feel like I can't switch off, I wake up frequently feeling exhausted and extemely hungry. The symptoms continue for the next day. I love to do exercise, it makes me feel great physically, but as for the way it affects my mood.. I find I have to organise my life around it. In particular if I have to study that afternoon.. I avoid doing any exercise like the plague! I've visited my doctor twice about this issue (2 different doctors), they've both suspected something like hypoglycaemia and have given me blood tests and have told me both times that nothing seems to be amiss with the results. As a medical student myself I'm searching through all my books/internet sites trying to understand what could be causing it but I'm really not sure. Please can you give me some advice on what to do.

Marceline F, RN - Fri Apr 27, 2007 5:51 am

Dear penkapchew, On the surface without having lab work to consider, it does indeed sound like you are having bouts of hypoglycemia. It would be of value to get a chemistry run (standard BMP- basic metabolic profile), to check your basic chemistry balance/imbalance; and even a HbA1c (glycolsylated Hemoglobin - or Hemoglobin A1c) which would tell your PMD your rolling average for blood sugars over a 3 month period of time. If indeed you are hypoglycemic, there are things you can do to combat the uncomfortable side effects, but it would be of value to verify that this is indeed the condition, rather than simply fight the symptoms blindly. They may be indicators of other underlying problems that have the potential to be even more serious if not addressed. Please ask your PMD to run some basic lab tests, and to further advise you based on those results.

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